Down & Distance: Florida State's Big Win Isn't Big Enough

The Seminoles Are Why College Football Needs the Playoff

It's been 30 years since Bernie Kosar and the Miami Hurricanes carved through old-school defenses with their innovative passing attack to win the school's first national championship—the first top-division football title for the state of Florida.

Howard Schnellenberger, the Hurricanes' mustachioed, pipe-smoking coach, had exploited the state's booming population to build a program that would go on to win or share four more championships. In the aftermath, two more powerhouse programs burst onto the Sunshine State scene:...